Built an OEM looking Android Auto system

[coolblue2025]

I wanted a touch screen Android Auto system but I didn't want a pop out screen and obviously double din isn't an option without rebuilding the central console so I started researching screen possibilities and realised some versions of the car came with the TomTom system with a little colour screen so I bought one of the screens for this system from ebay and then went about pulling it apart so I could put a 7" touch screen in it with a Raspberry Pi computer. There is an operating system you can run on the Raspberry Pi called 'crankshaft' which allows you to run Android Auto on the system.

I also took apart the old red/white aux in port and modified it to have a USB (for plugging in my phone for Android Auto) and an LED switch for turning the system on and off.

One good thing about this system is that it looks really OEM and also keeps the warning/info lights to the left of the screen in operation. It needs a bit of tweaking here and there and it isn't perfect but I'm happy with the solution given I've just made it up as I went along!

 

[M154MATT]

That is a fantastic mod please keep us updated as I really miss having a proper Android Auto setup in my 200.

 

[coolblue2025]

That is a fantastic mod please keep us updated as I really miss having a proper Android Auto setup in my 200.

I've had more modern cars until recently and I've really got used to having it so had to find a way! I'm just installing focal components and a little sub and then I'll be done!

 

[wootwoot]

Not sure on the quality but AliExpress sell complete units and housing's.

 

[wootwoot]

 

[coolblue2025]

View attachment 152481

Oh yes, saw these but they're all 9 inch screens which I think would look too big and out of place - on all the pictures I saw it looked like a tablet had just been plonked on the dash! Wanted something that looked OEM and also I've had these Chinese type screens in other cars and the audio quality has been terrible! I've only just spent a decent amount on a good head unit and quality focal components so ruled these things out for those reasons

 

[S24nrc]

Been looking at doing similar myself. How does the audio reach the speakers? Can you still pair a Bluetooth device with Android Auto connected?

 

[coolblue2025]

Been looking at doing similar myself. How does the audio reach the speakers? Can you still pair a Bluetooth device with Android Auto connected?

The software I'm using on the Raspberry Pi called 'crankshaft' allows you to switch it so you can still route audio via Bluetooth to your head unit, instead of the Raspberry Pi taking it all. The downside to this option is Google assistant doesn't work as you can't re-route the microphone input but I'm really after this setup for music and Google Maps so I'm OK with this. This isn't guaranteed to work on all phones according to the documentation, but it works for mine (Samsung Galaxy S10).

The other option would be to integrate a dedicated DAC board with the Raspberry Pi and then you could connect your speakers up directly and by-pass your car stereo (or aux out to your head unit). You might get away with just using the aux out from the Raspberry Pi to your head unit but people who use this software seem to recommend a dedicated board - maybe for better audio quality? Annoyingly my new head unit doesn't have aux in on the back (has one on the front!) so I went with the other option.

 

[S24nrc]

That's good to hear. I've messed about with Pi's for audio before and the onboard audio is pretty crap, probably why most go for the external DAC option. I'm too lazy to arse about wiring it in to the factory harness so I'll probably roll with Bluetooth until I can be bothered to sort it...

Screen wise is it just a run of the mill 7" 1024x600 china special that you've used?

 

[coolblue2025]

That's good to hear. I've messed about with Pi's for audio before and the onboard audio is pretty crap, probably why most go for the external DAC option. I'm too lazy to arse about wiring it in to the factory harness so I'll probably roll with Bluetooth until I can be bothered to sort it...

Screen wise is it just a run of the mill 7" 1024x600 china special that you've used?

This is what I've used to build it:

OSOYOO 7 Inch DSI Touch Screen LCD Display 800x480 for Raspberry Pi 4 3 3B+ 2 | Portable Capacitive Touchscreen Monitor with DSI Cable | Easy to DIY Create IOT Circuits and Learn Coding for Beginners : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories
I had to cut off the mounting tabs on the four corners and it just fit in the TomTom fascia, with a little cutting of a couple of bits of plastic inside it. It has mounts on the back for a Raspberry Pi which helps keep it neat. Some screens had HDMI and USB etc. but this has just one ribbon cable between the screen and the Raspberry Pi so I went for it to cut down on bulk and cables to fit in the fascia.
The only downside is the screen is bigger than the display hole at the front of the fascia - you could maybe cut the fascia more but I thought it might look rough so I had to apply an 'overscan' to the display settings to push the image down and right to compensate for the bits of the screen you can't see. Then I had to adjust the touch screen to cater for the overscan using a tool called xinput_calibrator. Getting that working right was probably the most time-consuming part of the build!

PowerBlock - Raspberry Pi Power Switch | The Pi Hut
I then added on this PowerBlock to the Raspberry Pi (sits on the GPIO headers) with some risers and it allows you to hard wire up power and add an LED switch which can send a safe shutdown command instead of just killing power.

Gebildet 2pcs 0.47 Inch/12mm Stainless Steel Momentary Push Button 12V-24V 3A LED Normally Open SPST ON Off Waterproof Button with Wire Socket Plug (Blue+Red, Each Color 1pc) : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools
LED switch for mounting in the aux panel.

TNP USB 3.0 Flush Mount Cable w/Buckle (Square) Dashboard Panel Dash Mount 1 Port USB Socket Plug Jack Connector Extension Wire Cord Water Resistant Male to Female (1.8M / 6FT): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories
USB extension cable for the aux panel.

DC 12v 24v to 5v Step Down Converter Regulator 5A 25W Power Adapter Reducer for Car Electronics Truck Vehicle Boat Solar System (Accept DC 8-40V Inputs): Amazon.co.uk: Automotive
12V to 5V step down converter for car to PowerBlock which then powers the Raspberry Pi - used a fuse tap on the cigarette lighter for the 12V source.

 

[S24nrc]

Easy enough... shame the user interface outside of Android Auto was built by a 9 year old!

 

[coolblue2025]

Easy enough... shame the user interface outside of Android Auto was built by a 9 year old!

View attachment 152490

Haha, yes! One of the reasons I decided to have a switch and what not and not have it on all the time - only switch it on when I want Android Auto so I'm not looking at the 'crankshaft' interface I'm a software developer by trade so these things annoy me too - maybe I'll make something better if I have any time! There is a paid for system called 'openautopro' which does similar - maybe that's better - but I stayed with crankshaft as I was only after the Android Auto bits for now, not all the other features of openautopro but it might be something I come back to.

 

[S24nrc]

Bosh.

Swapped away from CrankshaftNG to OpenDash, much nicer looking and the wireless Android Auto functionality doesn't rely on headunit server running on the phone. Way less features that I'll never use clogging up the UI too.

Still got some tidying up to do and a few tweaks to how the Pi is powered. I don't like the ignition live being the main feed for it, would rather have a permanent feed with an ignition live signalling the GPIO headers to turn the Pi on and off.

 

[coolblue2025]

Bosh.

Swapped away from CrankshaftNG to OpenDash, much nicer looking and the wireless Android Auto functionality doesn't rely on headunit server running on the phone. Way less features that I'll never use clogging up the UI too.

Still got some tidying up to do and a few tweaks to how the Pi is powered. I don't like the ignition live being the main feed for it, would rather have a permanent feed with an ignition live signalling the GPIO headers to turn the Pi on and off.

View attachment 152576

Nice!! I might have a look at OpenDash then. Yes, I think I did stumble across some Raspberry Pi HATs that have the 12V to 5V functionality and ignition live + permanent live to do what you said but I didn't necessarily want my screen on all the time - I can see some people would though, certainly more OEM like that way

 

[Racky]

Any of ypu guys did any improvement to these ? Thinking of getting the 'screen' from a TomTom, and do one of these

 

[Paul82]

I am currently working on a similar project. I moved the original display in my clio 3 beneath the dash where the cupholders are with a extansion cable from the top. This way i can still use the original radio, time and outside temperature. Then i placed a tomtom holder with a raspberry pi and 5,5 inch touchscreen thats fit exactly in the old tomtom screen (with the sdcard hole still inplace). The sdcardhole is now functional for the sdcard of the PI.
The pi has standard bullseye OS running VLC for movies and Audacious for audioplayer. An usb hub is located in the glovebox for mp3 storage connected to the pi. Via bluetooth the pi is connected to the oem radio cdplayer with a bluetooth adapter. This way i can still use the radio fm/cdplayer as usual and use the focal soundsystem for the audio. The steeringwheel audio controls work on the pi via the cdplayer bluetooth adapter.

Currently using it for:
- audio playback
- watch movies
- working on: navigation, a usb 4g and gps dongle is on the way for navigation and internet (youtube)
- working on: backup camera. probably using camera in licenseplate ligthholder connected via hdmi to pi
- have a obd2 reader working but standard clio readout is not much so maybe ditch this option (no oil temp or press)

i did not use Open auto only standard OS. At boot it starts vlc and audacios so i can use it instantly. with the toucscreen or tomtom remote i can alt-tab between the programs.

 

[Racky]

I am currently working on a similar project. I moved the original display in my clio 3 beneath the dash where the cupholders are with a extansion cable from the top. This way i can still use the original radio, time and outside temperature. Then i placed a tomtom holder with a raspberry pi and 5,5 inch touchscreen thats fit exactly in the old tomtom screen (with the sdcard hole still inplace). The sdcardhole is now functional for the sdcard of the PI.
The pi has standard bullseye OS running VLC for movies and Audacious for audioplayer. An usb hub is located in the glovebox for mp3 storage connected to the pi. Via bluetooth the pi is connected to the oem radio cdplayer with a bluetooth adapter. This way i can still use the radio fm/cdplayer as usual and use the focal soundsystem for the audio. The steeringwheel audio controls work on the pi via the cdplayer bluetooth adapter.

Currently using it for:
- audio playback
- watch movies
- working on: navigation, a usb 4g and gps dongle is on the way for navigation and internet (youtube)
- working on: backup camera. probably using camera in licenseplate ligthholder connected via hdmi to pi
- have a obd2 reader working but standard clio readout is not much so maybe ditch this option (no oil temp or press)

i did not use Open auto only standard OS. At boot it starts vlc and audacios so i can use it instantly. with the toucscreen or tomtom remote i can alt-tab between the programs.

Could you please share what screen did you used ? Thanks

 

[S24nrc]

Could you please share what screen did you used ?

Any 7" display should be fine.

I had another revision of mine with the latest versions of OpenDash installed and found a few nice config options that make it a bit nicer to use day to day.

• For wireless Android Auto set the following options
  • 480p Resolution
  • 30 FPS - 60FPS will murder your phones battery
  • Auto reconnect to last device off - far more reliable pairing, it would take a few disconnect/reconnect cycles to pair with my phone if this was enabled.
  • DPI ~160

 

[Racky]

Any 7" display should be fine.

I had another revision of mine with the latest versions of OpenDash installed and found a few nice config options that make it a bit nicer to use day to day.

• For wireless Android Auto set the following options
  • 480p Resolution
  • 30 FPS - 60FPS will murder your phones battery
  • Auto reconnect to last device off - far more reliable pairing, it would take a few disconnect/reconnect cycles to pair with my phone if this was enabled.
  • DPI ~160

Are you using Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 ?

Seen that 4 are overheating, and was wondering how do they handle the heat inside the case

 

[S24nrc]

Are you using Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 ?

Seen that 4 are overheating, and was wondering how do they handle the heat inside the case

I think mines a 4. I've never had any issues with it to be honest, it isn't running anything too wild. The phone does the heavy lifting processing wise and the Pi just displays the UI.